Japan's Maehara Seeks to Work with S. Korea to Check China

Seoul, Oct. 11 (Jiji Press)--Japanese ruling party policy chief Seiji Maehara stressed Tuesday the importance of Japan-South Korea cooperation in coping with China's growing military presence.
In his speech at the World Knowledge Forum held here, Maehara, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's Policy Research Committee, expressed concerns about China's maritime aggression, its disputes with neighboring countries and its expansion of military power.
"Cooperation between Japan and South Korea in this field is an important issue," he said.
"Freedom of navigation is vital for both Japan and South Korea" as trading nations, Maehara said in a press conference after the speech.
Also in the speech, Maehara pointed out that South Korea's opening of its market to Japanese culture helped to start the South Korea boom in Japan, instead of causing one-sided flows of Japanese culture into South Korea.
He then emphasized the need for a bilateral economic partnership agreement. South Korea has been cautious about concluding the agreement due to concerns about a possible expansion of its trade deficit with Japan.
On the economic front, Maehara said that the yen's abnormal strength, if prolonged, will inevitably have a grave impact on the Japanese economy.
"It is important for currency authorities to conduct yen-selling intervention decisively when needed and send a strong message to the market," he said.